Piece of Me
by Sartha Anne Rose
Summary: It was the one thing she feared the most, and all that is left is to face the future that he had once wanted. [Oneshot]


Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar, but I can't say I don't wish I did.

AN: Just something I wanted to write.

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She ran. As far and as fast as she could go, no matter the obstacles that came into her path, she ran.

Her feet were bleeding by now, raw and hurting, but she refused to feel the pain as she sped onwards, her mind on only one goal, her eyes stinging with tears that she dared not shed lest she admit the truth everyone else already knew. Up ahead, she could see the village that she recognized as her destination, and her eyes strained to locate the graveyard positioned just to the side and behind the sprawl of the houses and stone walls. Already she could see soldiers readying themselves at the walls, watching her with spears and swords gripped tightly at their sides. Behind her, she could hear the pounding of boots from those who had followed her on her rampage across the mountain.

Rage, anger, and despair coursed through her veins.

She ignored the soldiers; ignored the tense air that surrounded them all as she side-stepped the village and headed straight towards the graveyard, eyes clawing across the engravings on the freshest stones, searching desperately.

_No, no, no… Not there, not there, please, please!_

One after the other, she checked off the stones before her, trying to put aside the knowledge that the fresh graves held the bodies of soldiers no older than herself; bodies of young men who should have been her beloved brothers instead of her fallen enemies.

Still she searched.

_Not that one, it's not there. It's not TRUE!_

One after another. There were so many!

_Please, please!_

How would she ever know—

_Shu!_

Her heart stopped and her breath caught in a mocking, choked version of a gasp. Distantly, she felt herself fall to her knees upon one of the graves, the tears finally flowing bitterly over her cheeks as her eyes locked upon that one name that brought her world crashing down. For a moment, she could only stare, all the pressure and emotion building to a crescendo inside the shell of her body.

The scream of anguish that tore from her throat would never be forgotten.

She had returned to her village earlier that day, disappointed and worried when she had waited for hours within the caves, only to find herself alone in the end. He had never shown…

The villagers were in an energized uproar by the time she had stepped through the gates, the women gossiping like children about the battle that had taken place the day before and the overwhelming victory their village had experienced over their enemies on the other side of the mountain. She had heard rumor of the vast amount of graves scouts had seen freshly dug after the battle had finished, just outside enemy territory. Her own people had talked so flippantly about the death of the young men of both clans, but especially about those who fought on the opposing force. They had sounded so _happy_…

And now there was no doubt in her mind, no room for disbelief. His name glared back at her accusingly, and she could only feel a gap in her heart at his absence.

_Oh, Shu…_

"Oma, get away from there!"

"You, girl, do you have a deathwish?"

"Oma!"

Abruptly, her sorrow condensed into powerful anger within her breast, her tears halting within her eyes to leave telltale tracks upon her cheeks. Her body tensed, her hands clenching into fists as her eyes now looked past the name on the gravestone. Slowly, her head turned and her eyes regarded the two groups of people now watching her, standing ready to fight one another should anyone make a false move. The weapons in their hands made her jaw tighten and her face distort in disgust, and it was in this state that she rose to her feet, her very being suddenly seeming to crackle with danger.

"You… All of you…" She could feel the power pulse through her arms, the earth beneath her feet groaning in response to the almost tangible rage running in her blood. Her hands rose without bidding, forming the beginnings of the motions they had both learned together, Shu and herself, in order to love one another. His face flashed before her, kind and handsome but foolishly confident in the good of both their peoples. He had wanted so badly to end the war, to finish this needless battle between the mountain villages. Now, both sides stood before her, neither realizing the significance of his death as they once again set out to destroy one another.

Her anger cemented, and her hands moved.

"_YOU DID THIS_!"

The ground erupted around them, crumbling and rising, ripping apart and jumping amidst itself and beneath the feet of those foolish people. Beyond the motion of her hands, she could see enemies suddenly grappling for each other in an attempt to balance and flee, screams eliciting from mouths as the village came down around them all, swallowed mercilessly into the ground and leaving only its inhabitants. Her body moved distinctly, tapping into the lines of the earth, and she concentrated with all the power she knew she held, feeling with satisfaction the same collapse of her own village far on the other side of the mountain. With ease and grace, she created cages of pure earth and stone around them, trapping them and holding them as they tried to escape her wrath. For a moment, she wanted nothing more than to crush them within those prisons and send them into the afterlife with her Beloved.

She wanted to! She wanted to so badly, and yet--

_Oma. _

The tears were falling again, blurring her vision, and she had not even realized it. Slowly, her arms stopped moving, and she could hear relieved sighs and worried pleas from many a villager, no matter the side. Once again, his face flashed in her mind, and she knew abruptly that he would not have wanted this. It would be so easy to destroy them, right here and now, and stopped the war in its tracks, but that was not what he had ever wanted…

She looked down her hands and saw them trembling.

They had not learned bending in order to destroy… They had learned in order to love.

_Oma… I love you. No matter what, this is true. _

With one simple motion, she dropped the cages and wiped away the tears upon her cheeks, turning to regard the tombstone that she had traveled so far to see. She could feel the adrenaline ease out of her body, and without it to sustain her the pain and fatigue set in almost immediately.

She was so very tired… Tired of hurting, tired of hiding, tired of fighting with her own brethren for a reason they had all long forgotten.

_I love you too… My Shu…_

It was time to end this.

"This war is over! I declare that today and forever more after this moment. I'm sick of the fighting and the death, and I know everyone else is as well. There will be no more of it. We will look upon our neighbors as we once did: as our kin and our most precious companions, and we will hear no more about killing and hatred." She turned towards her people, staring them all down with eyes unrelenting, powerful. "It is about time we acted as strongly as we believe ourselves to be; if not for ourselves, then for our brothers, fathers, and husbands who have died for us over this foolishness. Gods help me, they will not have died in vain if I have anything to say about it."

They stared at her like the fools they were, dumbfounded by her words, but she did not care, and turned back to kneel once more by that most precious grave, her fingers rising to trace the same name that lingered upon her lips.

_My Beloved…_ "Shu…"

As the frightened people behind her finally came to their senses and began to make the first of a long, lasting peace with one another, Oma leaned forward and gently kissed the gravemarker of her lover, promising him with that one motion all of the future for their people that he had only imagined in his deepest musings. They would have to rebuild now due to her little tantrum (he had always claimed she was a loose cannon), but perhaps, if she played her cards right, they could build a home for everyone. She would not fail him in this.

One last tear escaped down her cheek, and then there were no more as she rose to her feet, all eyes watching.

Perhaps she would name the city after him…

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A bit strange, I know, but I just wanted to write it. Hope you enjoyed it!


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